Logitech G510 Review

The G510 is yet another LCD-equipped gaming keyboard from Logitech, but it offers a few differences from other keyboards in the G-series, despite its similar appearance and feel. This keyboard is clearly aimed at MMO and RTS fans, judging by the 18 macro keys on offer. As with previous G-series keyboards we’ve seen, there are three mode settings that triple the number of assignments, providing 54 different combinations before you even have to look at mapping more macros to the standard keys.

There's also the standard Windows-key locker, plus an interesting USB sound card that’s built into the keyboard behind the microphone and headphone ports. This arrangement is an innovative idea, but it means that you won’t be able to use the keyboard as a pass-through for your own sound card.

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This could be annoying if you’ve forked out for a good sound card, as you won’t be able to take advantage of the G510’s conveniently placed 3.5mm headphone and microphone jacks. However, the keyboard's on-board audio is adequate, and also sounds better than a basic motherboard sound codec. Strangely, however, the G510 doesn’t include a USB port, which is disappointing considering the keyboard’s high price.

Of course, one of the main reasons people consider buying a Logitech G-series keyboard is to take advantage of the built-in LCD. Initially little more than a gimmick when it first appeared on the G15, they’ve since become very popular thanks to their ability to show ammo or health levels, freeing up screen space.

The list of games supported by the GamePanel is constantly on the rise, with some needing patches while others provide native support. The LCD can also function as a PC monitoring suite, showing CPU and RAM usage. What's more, with the aid of utilities such as EVGA’s Precision, you can even check various system temperatures while gaming.

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The G510 also allows users to customise the backlight colour. We’ve seen this feature before, but whereas other keyboards only allow you to pick from a number of pre-defined colours, the G510 allows you to pick from the entire spectrum. The backlighting is of fixed intensity, but isn’t too bright. In fact, it only shines through symbols on the keys and surrounding buttons, making it much more effective than other keyboards we’ve seen that take it upon themselves to try to illuminate the entire room.

There are plenty of media controls too, including play and stop keys, plus a volume control and a dedicated mute button. Comfort-wise, the G510 is flatter than average, even with its legs extended, but the large wrist rest props up your hands enough to compensate. The keys are excellent too, with a very smooth and comfortable action, much like the keys on the Cyborg V5.

Conclusion

As with previous G-series boards, the G510 targets a specific type of user. If macro keys are to your liking, then this is a better keyboard than the SteelSeries Shift. Whether the screen and additional keys are worth £81.79 is a difficult question, however, especially as there’s no USB port and you can’t use the keyboard as an audio pass-through – if you can afford this keyboard, it's likely that you’ll already have a great sound card. The G510 certainly has some decent features, but the high price makes it very uncompetitive compared with the Cyborg V5, which remains our gaming keyboard of choice.